A voice in the wilderness crying, "Without vision, the people perish.."

Monday, March 08, 2010

f-Stop Fun - Foto Friday on Monday

In an earlier post about my cantankerous lawn windmills, I mentioned some photos could use a little f-stop magic.I try to post photos and related information on Fridays, but there are multiple exceptions like thie past week: (1) we are concerned with family situations, hence the post about Sisters, and (2) the weather did not provide satisfactory conditions for me to venture outdoors, even though I had researched and set my camera in a certain mode.

Since I don't know who will be reading this post or their knowledge of camera jargon, here is a simplistic overview of f-stops.

A f-stop, otherwise called aperture, is the size the lense opens at any given setting. the numbers on your lense, or displayed in some of your settings; typical numbers are 2.8, 3.5, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22. The lower the number the wider the opening. >The "f" stands for fraction and the number is related to length of the lens.

This opening, as well as exposure (time the lens is opened) plays a part in focus and depth of field (how much of total picture is in focus and sharp).

I am not going any further, because I don't know how sophisticated one's camera is. I have a Nikon with an exchangeable zoom lens allowing maximum control with a given lens/camera.I also have a Canon A-1000 IS so-called point and shoot camera, but it has far more features than AUTO. Although f-stops are not specifically set, some modes like Macro use openings and exposures that emulate wide lens openings. I have made some darn good pictures with the Canon.[Now you advanced amateur and professional photographers, don't jump all over me for oversimplifying a complicated subject. It is hard to isolate and explain one feature which is so interrelated with 3-4 features. I am merely trying to explain how to blur a busy unwanted background,]

Since I have not played around with settings in quite awhile, I went outside Saturday's spring-like day of 63 degrees with little wind, to PLAY, so don't look for any beauties, just playing.

The stump and the owl are the best examples of selective f-stop for background control. Usually this means the main subject, usually in the very near foreground, [owl or stump] is in sharp focus and the background is blurred, even unrecognizable. In these two pictures, the backgrounds are sufficiently blurred that the eye goes directly to the subject.

This little trick is a way to lead the eye into and out of a picture. It is best in the owl photo [f5, 1/60, 86mm] as the eye focuses immediately on the owl into the picture and out following the light straw...hmmm ...dead weeds.The Owl is a nearly "Straight Out of the Camera." I adjusted contrast on it; no crop, etc.

The stump [f5.3, 1/500, 200mm] is a matter of what is focused and what is not. I decided to do a little cropping, too--may have done too much, as I like the top rail of the fence leading the eye out of the photo....decisions, decisions, decisions!

The spring leaves of the Naked Lady [f5,3, 1/500, 200mm]at first looks like a macro, but it is not. It is taken by the telephoto zoom. This is a true "Straight Out of the Camera" shot.

The flag photo [f4.9, 1/500, 78mm] and the ubiquitous windmills are not very good examples of f-stop magic. They failed because of several factors-- too long and complicated to explain.

I like the back-lit flag. I cropped the photo, but am intrigued by the moss on that big tree we are trying to salvage from the Great 1000 Year Ice storm. I don't remember that much moss--maybe some kind of color aberration.The windmills [f4.2, 1/150,35mm] appear to like each other today, but otherwise this is a lousy [cropped] photo. I feel like my eyes are splitting between the two windmills; I'm staring at a brown blank wall! Yuck!I almost forgot the messy room! This room was so bad my housecleaner said I had to do something with it before she attempted to clean it. Sounds bad, doesn't it? The messy boxes and chair is all I have to finish in the room which had boxes and STUFF piled everywhere. I hope she is elated this week. It has taken me three weeks.Perspective and f-stop + focus bring attention to the mess. Note: photos on wall are blurred. That huge plastic bag on the door knob? I have overfilled and emptied it 4 times with mostly papers and shredded materials. For those persons interested in the hieroglyphics I provided with some of the photos, I obtained the mumbo-jumbo from the EXIF info attached to the photos. Some info doesn't seem quite right but after all the camera is a computer, and computers don't make mistakes! Right???

Oh, my...I'm thoroughly amazed...My camera does everything for me...but I would much prefer it did not...then, I could control the settings etc...but it sounds like an awful lot to learn as well...forgive me for being late to visit...My son and I have been sick...but I wanted to stop by to see you especially!!! Love you and have missed you!!! ~Janine XO

Don't know if my comment got through...sure do hope so...can't remember whether or not you have comment moderation, and so I will post again!!! I wish I had a wonderful camera like you!!! But I suppose, then, I'd had to figure out all the techie stuff...and I'm not as good at that as you!!! But I loved the explanation because I always wondered what an f-stop was!!!! Terrific!!! Love you!!! Janine XO

About Me

A restless mind and restless soul, 70+ in age, married, retired pharmacist, former city alderman, with unlimited interests and curiosity, including, but not limited to, photography, computers, our dog, politics and religion (spirituality). However, I rarely blog or comment on the latter two subjects. In another life I may be a student in perpetuity.
A former Texan, I now live in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. I have also lived in Virginia, Maryland and Morocco at various times of my married life.

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